WOFT

There were 4 unicycles. 3 were "standard" fixies, and 1 was a "geared" fixie. Winning time was 5h17 on a standard hub.

Steve, you are a legend! It was awesome riding with you. You and your singlespeed whipped our butts in every part of the ride, except pushing uphill. And handless riding. If you give me a few days and many reminders, I'll pull the file off of the other unicyclist's (Alan)'s gps and post it here. In the meantime, you can check out the route that the Altech Tracker picked up: follow the link on right of the CounterBalance website homepage to the "Live Tracking / Guardian" page. Login with username "freedom" and password of "password". Click on "trip replay" in the left column, and view the tracking from "6 January 2011". I'm not sure how helpful it will be as the Guardian maps are not topographical.

Eish, not a great way make friends here, and not a great way to get a fringe sport taken seriously! Well, unicycling might never be taken seriously, but we can have a go at least, haha! I'm one of the a..holes who rode in the 2010 Argus (the original poster isn't). There were no incidents in spite of the wind. Statistically, you are more likely to be taken by a shark whilst swimming than being taken by a unicyclist whilst cycling (I am sure you will agree that my logic here is flawless ). We'll be there for the Argus this year. Please say hi if you pass us - We are not easy to miss Thanks atraut for clarifying your thoughts on unicyclists in general (and thanks to the others who can see the difference between a unicyclist and a clown on a unicycle). Check out the CounterBalance website. We've just finished the Freedom Revolution Unicycle Tour: 2470km over 44 days, offroad (ie: the Freedom Challenge route), on unicycles. Ummm, I have absolutely no comeback for this one ...

Hi Guys This didn't get much attention in the "general notices" board, so this is a repost from there. Many of you on The Hub have heard of the mountain unicyclists lurking in Tokai forest. Some of you may even have seen them these curious creatures. Like stories of the Yeti, Loch Ness Monster and unicorns, only those who have seen them are true believer in their existence. I am here to tell you that exist. And they plan on making it known that they do! We're really happy to tell you that our the CounterBalance website, dedicated to the Freedom Revolution Unicycle Tour, is up and rolling. Donna Kisogloo, Alan Read and Johnny Cronje are riding 2,500km off-road from Durban to Cape Town for 46 days from November 26, offroad, on 29inch mountain unicycles. Our site will tell you everything you will want to know about our epic adventure. "SA-positive" blogger Fred Hatman, who is also our support driver for the ride, will be blogging about the tour and constantly updating on Facebook (The CounterBalance Project), YouTube (CounterBalanceSA) and Twitter (TheCBProject) Pop over to our website and interact with us as we prepare for the mother of all unicycle (and possibly bicycle) rides... and please follow us on the various social media to keep updated on new blogposts, images and video. We'll be really grateful to get your support as we test ourselves and our unis against the rugged terrain of South Africa... all in aid of Bob Skinstad's Bobs For Good Foundation which is committed to providing rural children with decent school shoes! We are proud to be doing our ride for such a phenomenal cause! We need hefty sponsorship to make our ride happen. If you would like to donate, there is a "Donate" page on the new website where you can contribute. We'd be totally chuffed if you can help us get going! Once our tour expenses are met, all surplus money will be given to Bobs For Good to buy shoes for the kids. Here are all the links for our adventure: Website: CounterBalance Facebook: The CounterBalance Project Twitter: The CBProject YouTube: CounterbalanceSA Please support us in anyway that you can, whether it be a donation or joining our groups to follow the tour. If you have taken part in the Freedom Revolution and have advice to offer us, we would really appreciate it! If you would like get of me personally, my details are as follows: Johnny Cronje Johnny@CounterBalance.co.za Cel: 0836011133 Many thanks!

I searched "pubmed", an online database of medical journals. I searched for "snakebite", "suction" and "aspivenin". I could only view the abstracts of the articles, as I don't have a subscription to access the full texts. most of the articles I checked out said that suction was did NOT change the outcome, in experimental animal studies.understanably, there are not many experimental human studies, but most of the reviews also say that the suction unit as a first aid measure for snakebites in not effective. 2 articles (ie: the minority) showed that the suction unit actually CAUSED damage to area it is applied to - the rim of the suction cup damaged the skin and underlying tissues to the point where they necrosed, worsening infection and prolonging the time to heal. No articles suggested that that suction units be used. however, 1 article suggested that "trained personal could, under certain conditions, used excision and suction". this article was published in 1960.

Fair points there. I suppose what I want to know is whether the aspivenin will buy some life/limb/digit saving time whilst getting to the doc. Interesting thought about keeping active with cytotoxic venom. I'll see what my medic friends say is the latest protocal. My "snakes of south africa" book was published in about 1985!

Hi there. All this snake talk freaks me out a bit. I often ride alone (go on, judge me!). I have heard talk about the "aspivenin" kit - it is a small suction kit that is supposed to suck out some of the poison from a variety of bites and stings. Does anyone know if these actually work, and where one can get them in Cape Town?

I reckon the part where it talks about pedals and being propelled by pedals probably covers cyclists. Edman, I'm not a lawyer. My reading of what you highlighted makes me think of those mopeds that have an engine AND pedals (on the same vehicle, to start it). I'll try find some friends with an LLB to clear it up.

It seems that this does NOT apply to cyclists. A Motor Vehicle is defined in the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 as:

[not entirely on topic] I converted my 29er unicycle to tubeless using the ghetto method and a UST (continental mountain king 2.4). Problem is, It burps on drops over about 1ft. Do you bikers running tubeless setups find this problem common? Any idea how to deal with it?

Cool photos brent. Looking forward to seeing the rest. Did you get any good footage? Hopefully next year will be bigger. It was loads of fun, and nerveracking racing against the clock and Ethan. All in all, a load of fun!

I'll probably be there. What kind of tools do you need? I've never built trails, but I guess a spade will be useful

Cool. Should be fun. If anybody has to urge to take the plunge and buy a unicycle, I'm sure that Alan from Oddwheel.co.za could bring some out there - saves on shipping.

I think a lot of confusion comes about from lay people not knowing that most ambulance personel are not paramedics. However, they all dress the same. you get Basic life support (BLS/BAA), Intermediate life support (ILS/AEA) and Advanced life support (ALS/paramedic). only the ALS guys are true "paramedics". BLS is a 5 week course. these guys can patch you up and take you to hospital, but cannot admister drugs (aside from Oxygen and laughing gas). ILS is a scourse over several months. they are inbetween ALS and BLS, and can administer certain drugs and more invasive procedures, like putting up drips. BLS and ALS make up the majority of the ambulance service. Paramedics are highly qualified practitioners, having studied for at least 3 years, and being VERY experienced. they have a lot of emergency drugs at their disposal, and are very skilled at using them. They bare mostly seen in the smaller, faster "response cars" rather than the code 10 ambulances. At an accident outside of a hospital, I would rather be treated by a paramedic than a GP. [PS: I have oversimplified what these guys can do to illustrate the differences. I'm not knocking their qualifications or their importance, especially the BLS guys] I love the idea of doctors riding with the groups, and would be equally happy with a paramedic riding there. It wuold be interesting to compare the response time of the biking doc if he/she were furthest away from the injury, to the reponse time of the non-racing medics/docs. Tim, what kind of equipment/drugs are you carrying? is it general first aid stuff like dressings, or more the drug spectrum?

They go from totally clear to about 80% shade' date=' when cycling you usually arent staring into the sun (Unless you have just seen your ring piece) They are hundreds I use them for driving occasionallly and have never had to squint in very bright conditions. I was also sceptic at first, but now I will never ride with any other lenses in my life again.[/quote'] I have the clear photochromatics, but they don't get very dark from inside the car no matter how bright it is. I was thinking that the glass windows might be filtering some of the UV light. I can't use mine to drive, but the minute I step outside, they darken. I have a pair of action brown (standard lenses) which are great for driving, and the photo's are best for biking.

I love the saddle! That is a serious weight saving. Does it make a noticeable difference to your riding?

Good idea Mr Reggae. I think there are also a few non-hubbers interested in workshop. I'm a bit busy with studies at the moment, but I'll be a free man after 24 November (if it can wait until then).

Ja Droo' date=' great pics! It was a really cool event to be a part of. I was expecting a mixed response from the crowd, but everyone at the event was really encouraging. hopefully we will have our own catagory next year

I'm really glad you got it back! I thought you would never see it again, and am very happy to be wrong about that. Being the only UW in the Western Cape, I need to come visit to give it a go. Incidently, can the guy who bought it ride it?

Clips: It has been tried. unsurprisingly, it has failed. There are a few individuals who ride with clips for road riding. The problem is that when we bail at speeds faster than we can run, it does not matter whether or not we have time to unclip - we're buggered either way! Gears: Nobody in SA that we know of owns a geared hub yet (nobody has 875 spare british pounds lying about). the hub has an internal gearing system. the shifter button is an extension of the hub/axle. to shift, this button is pushed with the side of the heel. A bit of practice, and this can be done whilst riding. Brakes: the uni is a fixie - to brake, just pedal slower. that is also how we can ride backwards. brakes are becoming more common through. the main advantage is on long downhills. this is to conserve energy, and take the work off of the knees. other uses, such as short but STEEP sections, entering drops, and braking over very bumpy terrain requires a lot of skill. Freewheel: there are a few freewheeling uni hubs. these are not that successful. unlike bicycles, we depend on direct feedback (fixie hub) through the cranks to control or front-to-back balance. if this is lost, such as through a freewheel mechanism, balacning becomes extremely difficult. There is an option for offroad freewheeling called "gliding". the unicyclist puts one foot on the frame, and the other foot on the tire. the foot on the tire acts as a "brake". no feet on the pedals, so they can spin as fast as you want! Drops: We protect our manhood (and ladybits, for some), in the same way bikers do - don't sit on them with force! we land all of the larer drops standing on the pedals. the transition from standing to sitting is fast, so we may appear to land seated if. We are also firm believers in cycle pants

Well ... normally 1:1 But with the Schlumpf geared hub you get 2 gears. a. 1:1 b. 1:1.5 So a 24" wheel could cover the same distance as a 36" with a single pedal stroke. They were used very effectively by the winning German team in Ride The Lobster (800km's over 5 days) in Canada last year. They used geared 36" Unicycles and averaged speeds of around 25km/h' date=' but managed to get top speeds of over 35km/h [/quote'] Arne Tilgen (Team "Germen Speedsters") managed to hit a top speed of 44km/h on one of the downhills. scary, scary scary...

I almost forgot about it. Nice to see it finally published. I thought it really captured the spirit of what we do, and why we do it. And the photos were cool as well. Thanks for tagging along with us Steve!